The problem is my wife struggles to use the X100 and rarely takes it anywhere. We have a baby due in June/July so I'm thinking of replacing the X100 with the RX100 as it has face detect etc so she can't go wrong. It's something she could take anywhere and covers video so we wouldn't need to buy a video camera.

X100 focussing has always been tough, especially indoors. I'm hoping the RX100 would be better.

Do you think the above is a good switch or has anyone followed this route and been disappointed?

I'd appreciate any feedback. We don't have budget to keep the X100 and buy an additional camera (the baby needs loads of stuff yet!).

I am/was actually facing a similar choice. My wife and I are expecting this summer and she dislikes using our "portable" camera (NEX-5N) so I was afraid she was unlikely to use it, let alone bring it anywhere. I bought a used RX100 to try out figuring I would be able to easily sell it if it didn't work out, but there is no way I'm selling it!

I don't think you'll regret the swap. The RX100 is very easy to use and has fast and accurate AF. As far as image quality goes, the X100 will really only best the RX100 in low light, and when you factor in the RX100's increased resolution the X100's advantage almost disappears (i.e. they'll both produce nearly identical prints even at ISO 3200).

The problem is my wife struggles to use the X100 and rarely takes it anywhere. We have a baby due in June/July so I'm thinking of replacing the X100 with the RX100 as it has face detect etc so she can't go wrong. It's something she could take anywhere and covers video so we wouldn't need to buy a video camera.

X100 focussing has always been tough, especially indoors. I'm hoping the RX100 would be better.

Do you think the above is a good switch or has anyone followed this route and been disappointed?

I'd appreciate any feedback. We don't have budget to keep the X100 and buy an additional camera (the baby needs loads of stuff yet!).

Thanks,

Tony

I had the Fuji X100 for a while. Nice camera but kind of quirky. It's got the larger sensor so it will give you better background blur in many instances. Theoretically it should give you cleaner, high ISO images, too, though I never did any direct comparison.

I love the Sony and for what you describe it might be the better option for your wife.

I've been pleased with the RX100 for indoor use. Focus is usually quick and accurate, although not 100% of the time. I'm using the RX100 rather than my NEX 7 and Oly E-M5, so I'm using it in place of a couple of very good cameras. So far, I'm pleased. It won't equal those two cameras in difficult lighting, but it is good enough for most occasions and I'm more likely to have it with me. It has 3 presets you can define, and I've set one of those up for forced flash photography indoors and current the other two are set up for HDR modes. If you can teach your wife to use the presets, you can set it up however you deem appropriate for her.

same here, went from X10 to X100 to RX100. We have a nine weeks old son and especially video with the RX100 works very well whereas the X100 is quite tricky for video. In general I can say that the RX100 is a better way to complement your dslr compared to the x100.

I had an X100 and loved it, but didn't love the focal length, so I bought an X-Pro and sold the X100. I have a couple of lenses, but I leave the 18mm on it the overwhelming majority of the time. So it's almost like an X100 with a different focal length. The X100 is a great camera with some quirks - the X100s appears to be an even greater camera without the quirks.

I also bought an RX100 for a compact. I was initially impressed with it based on its amazing sensor, and there's no doubt that the sensor is great. But I never liked the controls, never liked the lens much except at the wide end where it's pretty nice at f1.8, and just fundamentally never enjoyed shooting with it. I interact with my controls a lot and I always felt like I was wrestling with the RX100. I also shoot a lot of street photos and I rely on zone focus for that and trying to zone focus with the RX100 was a painful affair in good light and all but impossible in lower light, despite the fines sensor and fast lens. The interface just didn't work for me at all.

BUT...

My wife is a school teacher and needed a better low light camera for shooting her kids indoors in the classroom. I let her try the RX100 and she loves it. She just leaves it on iAuto and shoots - no interaction, no changes except to the zoom, and she's very happy with it.

So, if you and your wife can get along with the same camera, maybe the RX100. In my case, we'd never survive as a one camera household. If we were gonna try we might have gone with an m43 body with a kit zoom for her and a couple of prime lenses for me. But it never would have worked.

Thanks Ray. That makes sense. Enthusiasts want to play with the controls, wives just want to press a button does face detect work well?

I'm not sure I ever tried it. The only cameras I've ever really had much luck with face detection on are the more e recent and fast Olympus m43 bodies paired with fast AF lenses. The OMD with either the 45 or 75mm lenses (both f1.8) are the best AF and face detection (take your pick, near eye, left eye, right eye) are the best portrait combos I've ever used - just nails what it's going after pretty much every time. So that's what I pull out when facing that kind of shooting. Like I said, we could never be a one camera family - I'm doing well when I keep it below five total. ﻿:-)

X100 is a nice tool i keep for museums and indoor social events, i love its style and the way it helps thinking how to take a picture, sure it has a special character and need to be tamed.

RX100 is marvelous another way, the easy way for many things, particularly panoramas, HDR, bracketing, no lens cap to put somewhere, no big hands to carry it, and of course its speed that remind me the nikon V1 ( another great camera actualy at an incredible price, but bigger than the RX100).

Finaly i think there is nothing more convenient than the RX100 when you need to take that pic now, not later:)

I think the face detection works quite well, better than any other camera I've used. Not only does it track faces in real time, it also adjusts exposure to the face. For example, if the person is standing near a window their face will be properly exposed rather than being too dark.